Ryan is a firearms attorney and a firearm industry executive. He managed federal government relations for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, he was a Vice President of Remington Outdoor Company (Remington Arms and Ammunition, AAC, DPMS, Bushmaster, Dakota, Marlin, and more) overseeing all firearm compliance matters, and he was a voting board member of the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturer's Institute (SAAMI). In addition to running RocketFFL and RocketCCW, he is also an attorney with the country's premier firearm compliance program, FFLGuard.

A Passion for Teaching

Ryan loves to teach. He taught for years as a sniper instructor and as adjunct faculty teaching outdoors-realted courses at a local college. In addition to his firearms compliance courses and FFL guides available through RocketFFL and his online firearm safety training for CCWs at RocketCCW, he continues to teach firearm-courses, write books and articles, host the Going Ballistic Podcast, and create videos. He also teaches Constitutional Law at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, AL.

Guide Description

This guide walks you through every step to become a Special Occupational Taxpayer (SOT). Unlike other guides, however, it doesn't just tell you the steps to fill out an application. Instead, this RocketFFL guide also educates you about the many requirements of being an SOT and it helps you make some important decisions along the way. In other words, it helps you to become an SOT the RIGHT way!

This guide has four chapters, each with their own lessons. For a full break-down of the contents of this guide, see the Curriculum below. The four chapters are:

Introduction,

Taxpayer Requirements,

Registration, and

NFA Compliance

Each lesson in these chapters is broken down into an easy-to-digest way.

If you'd like to sample some of the lessons, I've made them free for you to review - just click on the free trial button above! You can check out lesson 1.3 Background for an example of important, but dry, information distilled into just what you need to know. You can review lesson 1.4 Classes of SOT if you're still wondering whether becoming an SOT is right for you. And, you can preview lesson 2.1 Taxpayer Identity to learn how SOTs are treated by the ATF and some introductory requirements.

Add the Get Your FFL Guide

You must have an FFL in order to become an SOT. If you don't qualify for an FFL (you can determine this with the Get Your FFL free trial), then you won'e be able to become an SOT.

Here's a note: notice that the guide is titled "Becoming an SOT" and not "Getting Your SOT." This is because an SOT is the type of taxpayer you become, it is not a thing that you "have" like an FFL. When others talk about "getting an SOT" or they "have their SOT," it's a sure sign that they don't really understand what is going on. Also, "Class 3" is one of the types of SOT you can become (dealers). Another type is "Class 2" (manufacturers). There's no such thing as a "Class 3 firearm!" Instead, that NFA firearm was made by a Class 2 SOT and is sold by a Class 3 SOT. These are just a couple of the many indicators that you're getting accurate professional information from RocketFFL.

Follow-up With Training

This guide provides you with a LOT of firearm compliance information - all of it created by an actual firearms attorney! In addition to the education you'll receive in this guide on the requirements of becoming an SOT, you'll also receive basic NFA firearms compliance training in Chapter 4, NFA Compliance. This chapter has three lessons:

NFA Compliance,

NFA Transfer, and

NFA Forms

Even with all of this training, it's still not enough to truly master firearms compliance. RocketFFL offers follow-on firearms compliance training courses that dive deeper into each area of FFL compliance. For example, this guide discusses the differences between certain NFA Forms and NFA Firearms. However, the follow-on course on ATF Compliance teaches you many of the nuances of when to use which form and special considerations for NFA Firearms that each would take an entire Chapter to discuss.

This is not an attempt to make you pay for the whole story. You're already getting more and better information than you can get anywhere else! Instead, it allows you to become an SOT and get started off on the right foot. Once you're ready to take, or have an employee take, a course in professional-level compliance training, we're here for you!

Get Updates Automatically!

If you sign up for and use this guide, you'll automatically get updated if/when things change in the future - this is true for all RocketFFL courses and guides!